multiple birth

birth

[berth]

a coming into being; the act or process of being born.

birth certificate a written, authenticated record of the birth of a child, required by state laws throughout the United States. After a birth is registered, a birth certificate is issued which represents legal proof of parentage, age, and citizenship, and is of great personal and legal importance. A birth certificate is required for many legal and business or personal transactions. Whether the child is born at home or at the hospital, the physician, midwife, or other attendant must report the birth to the local or state registrar. The report becomes a permanent record, and a certificate is issued to the parents. If a child dies during birth, an immediate report and certification of the birth and death are required, containing a statement of the cause of death.

birth control the concept of limiting the size of families by measures designed to prevent conception. The movement of that name began in modern times as a humanitarian reform to conserve the health of mothers and the welfare of children, especially among the poor. More recently it has been superseded by the term family planning, which means planning the arrival of children to correspond with the desire and resources of the married couple. See also contraception.

multiple birth the birth of two or more offspring produced in the same gestation period.

premature birth (preterm birth) expulsion of the fetus from the uterus before termination of the normal gestation period, but after independent existence has become possible; defined as birth occurring before 37 completed weeks (295 days), counting from the first day of the last normal menstrual period. Approximately 6 to 8 per cent of all live births in the United States are premature, and premature births are the major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality.

occurs to the fetus during birth. Includes rib fracture and meningeal hemorrhage.

birth interval

the interval between succeeding parturitions. See also calving interval.

multiple birth

the birth of two or more offspring produced in the same gestation period.

birth order

the chronological order of births in a multiple birth. May have significance in causing stillbirths if the intervals between births are prolonged because of inertia.

premature birth

expulsion of the fetus from the uterus before termination of the normal gestation period, but after independent existence has become a possibility. In humans prematurity is defined as a pregnancy of less than 37 weeks in a pregnancy normally lasting 40 weeks.

birth process

comprises maturation of the fetus, relaxation of the bony pelvis and associated ligaments, softening and relaxation of the cervix, vagina, vulva and perineum, correct disposition of the fetus, contractions of the uterine myometrium and finally the only component under voluntary control, contraction of the abdominal muscles.

birth rate

the number of births during one year for the total population (crude birth rate), for the female population (refined birth rate), or for the female population of reproductive age (true birth rate). Not a term much used with reference to animals. See calving, lambing rate.

birth size

stature, including height at withers, crown to tail head length at birth.

birth weight

the weight at birth. A significant determinant of survival in any species and of the occurrence of dystocia. See also prolonged gestation.

multiple

a disease in which a combination, or alternative combinations, of causes, are required to produce it. Called also multifactorial etiology.

multiple-crush

surgical instruments, e.g. heavy duty emasculators, ecraseurs in which each jaw has more than one crushing surface, mounted one behind the other, each successive surface coming into contact with its counterpart as increasing pressure is applied to the handles of the instrument.

simultaneous infection with more than one virus or a combination of virus and bacteria may be caused by one agent lowering resistance to the other. There may be synergism between the agents.

multiple least squares regression

the major method of analysis used to sort through a large number of potential risk factors permitting the examination of one factor while the other factors in the regression equation are held mathematically constant.

The medical and medical ethics literature has addressed the questions of exposure to potential harm to the fetus and would-be child in two cases: women who continue to use illegal drugs throughout their pregnancy and women who choose to continue high-order, multiple birth pregnancies that result from infertility treatments (Capron, 1998; Frank et al.

With the rate of twin births continuing to rise in the United States, officials at the University of California, San Francisco decided it was time to offer a comprehensive center designed to cater to families expecting a multiple birth.

As a result, in 2008 the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) ordered IVF clinics to reduce their multiple birth rate, then 24 per cent, to 15 per cent by restricting patients to a single embryo, except where there were medical reasons, such as a recent failed treatment cycle, for transferring two.

With the start of Twins, Triplets and More Week (June 28 June - July 4), I am therefore writing to let other people in the area who are expecting - or have recently had - a multiple birth, about a new and desperately needed initiative that will help prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead.

In one study involving women younger than age thirty-six with good-quality embryos, double-embryo transfers increased the live birth rate from 39 to 43 percent, but the multiple birth rate increased from 1 to 33 percent.

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